Research in the Fifth Framework Programme
Agriculture food forestry and fisheries are hugely important
economic and social sectors in the EU. For example exports
derived from the agriculture and forestry sectors alone
are worth around €50 billion a year to the EU and they
employ around 17 million people. Europe can also boast a
great deal of global success in terms of efficient food
production and farming systems. Unfortunately these intensive
processes have had detrimental effects upon issues such
as the environment, biodiversity, and global trade.
KA5 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
In line with this policy key action 5 of the fifth framework
programme, launched in 1998, dealt specifically with research
into developing knowledge and technologies for the sustainable
production and exploitation of biological resources, covering
the whole production chain, and taking into account the
competitive international context and ways to adapt to the
evolution of the common agricultural and fisheries policies.
The key action focused upon the following key areas of research.
Plant and Animal production systems
Sustainable farm production systems including control and
analysis, diversification of production and activities,
support to Community plant health policies including prevention
prediction and protection against diseases and harmful organisms;
Animal welfare and the prevention, control, eradication
of animal diseases and zoonoses. The identification and
characterisation of the quality of agrofood products and
agricultural farm-processed products and farm-processing
technologies. The definition of parameters, specifications,
methods, forms of organisation and technologies for total
quality; organic farming systems; plant and animal breeding,
including relevant application-oriented genome research,
and the diversity of genetic resources.
Fisheries and aquaculture
Support to integrated fishery management linking resource
conservation, means of capture, and interactions with ecosystems,
market requirements and socioeconomic considerations. The
identification and characterisation of the quality of marine
products and technologies including the development of new
concepts for the sustainable use of marine and aquatic living
resources. Sustainable aquaculture production systems with
reduced impact on ecosystems and diversification of cultivated
species (both plant and animal); improvement of production
techniques; genetic improvement; disease resistance and
control.
Non-food products
The exploitation of the biorefinery concept and the integrated
production chain method in order to develop Industrial products
such as green chemicals, biopolymers and biofuels from biological
resources.
Forest management and the Forest wood chain
Developing multifunctional and sustainable management of
forests combining quality production and new and improved
technologies with conservation and environmental protection,
including protection of forests soils and protection against
natural hazards such as forest fires. Diversification including
non-wood and recreational uses, and agro-sylvo-pastoral
systems. Forests ecosystems biodiversity and genetic improvement.
Developing strategies for sustainable management and multipurpose
utilisation of forest resources and the forestry-wood chain
where efficient, environment-friendly processes and recycling
technologies, high value-added and diversified products
accounting for market needs, and consumer requirements,
will be addressed
Support to the Common Agriculture and Fish
policies
The aim is to support the sound implementation of the common
agricultural and fisheries policies and related activities.
This research may also be useful to the Community in the
context of international trade negotiations and of dispute
settlements in the framework of WTO, in the area of agriculture.
The aim is to provide support for Community regulations
by prenormative research activities. prenormative research
to provide the scientific basis for regulations in the context
of the common agricultural and fisheries policies,
Rural Development
Analysis of changes under way, the relationships between
the sectors involved and the factors influencing technological
and socioeconomic changes. Multifunctional land use and
landscape management as related to important ecosystems
and habitats including cultural heritage; diversification
and job opportunities; development of the .integrated rural
and fishery development' concept, with the elaboration of
new models and tools, including for spatial planning and
the improvement of the organisational capacity of local
actors; support to follow-up and evaluate rural and coastal
development programmes and policies with tools to monitor,
assess and forecast socioeconomic and environmental benefits.
Research Projects - DB
Research in the Fourth Framework Programme
FAIR s an acronym for the Fourth Framework specific RTD
programme “Agriculture and Fisheries (including Agro-industry,
Food technologies, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development)”.
It was one of the 18 specific programmes adopted by Council
in April 1994 for funding over the framework period 1994-1998.
The FAIR programme had an overall budget of 728 MECU and
was implemented through research and technological development
(RTD), demonstration (DEMO), and CRAFT, shared cost projects,
concerted action and thematic networks (CA), and research
training grants.
The programme aimed to promote pre-competitive research
in the European primary production food and non-food sectors
of agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and aquaculture,
and to consolidate links with the input and processing industries,
the end user and the consumer. It covers all aspects of
production and utilisation of biological raw materials with
a view to develop new markets, products and processes for
the raw materials originating from agriculture, forestry
and fisheries. Pre-normative research was initiated and
supported in order to provide a sound scientific base for
the setting of standards and regulations relating to production,
transformation and use of biological resources.
http://cordis.europa.eu/fair/home.html
Research in the Third Framework Programme
Agro-industrial research (AIR) ran from 1991 to 1994 under
the Commission's Third Framework Programme.
AIR research was organised into four scientific and technical
areas:
- primary production in agriculture, horticulture, forestry,
fisheries and aquaculture
- inputs to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and agriculture
- processing of biological raw materials
- end use products
For
further information on AIR
Research in the Second Framework
Agricultural was divided into a number of programmes in
the Commission's Second Framework Programme for research
(1986-1990).
They were:
- FOREST (Forestry Sectoral Research and Technology)
- this programme covered raw materials, recycling, and renewables
in forestry and wood products.
- FAR (Fisheries and Aquaculture Research) - community
research and co-ordination programmes in the fisheries sector.
- CAMAR (Competitiveness of Agriculture and Management
of Agricultural Resources) - a research and technological
development programme covering competitiveness of agriculture,
and management of agricultural resources.
- FLAIR (Food-linked Agricultural Research) - research
in food science and technology.
- ECLAIR (European Collaborative Linkage of Agriculture
and Industry through Research) - this was the first multi-annual
programme for bio-technology-based agro-industrial research
and technological development.
Findings
from the ECLAIR programme |
